Module 5: External Beam Treatment Planning

Objective

To develop key skills and knowledge required of a radiation oncology medical physicist (ROMP) to be competent in the specialist area of radiotherapy treatment planning.

Competencies to be acquired

5.1 Participate in the process of and provide scientific advice for, the procurement of a suitable radiotherapy treatment planning system (RTPS).
5.2 Perform acceptance testing and commissioning of a radiotherapy treatment planning system (RTPS).
5.3 Conduct quality control (QC) of a RTPS.
5.4 Understand the requirements for RTPS system administration.
5.5 Acquire and use patient image data for treatment planning. Estimate uncertainties involved in the acquired data and assess the impact of such uncertainties in treatment planning.
5.6 Perform simple manual treatment planning dose calculations and use RTPS for treatment planning, dose optimisation and evaluation.
5.7 Develop and plan new treatment techniques.
5.8 Perform QC of individual treatment plans.

Expected time commitment

15% - 20% of the entire programme

Reference Syllabus

  • Podgorsak E B (Ed), Radiation Oncology Physics: A Handbook for Teachers and Students, IAEA, Vienna, 2005. Chapters 6,7,8,12.

Core References

  • IAEA TRS-430, Commissioning and QA of Computerised Treatment Planning Systems for Radiation Treatment of Cancer, International Atomic Energy Agency, 2004.
  • ICRU Report No. 50, Prescribing, Recording, and Reporting Photon Beam Therapy, International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, 1993.
  • ICRU Report No. 71, Prescribing, Recording, and Reporting Electron Beam Therapy, International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, 2004.
  • Khan F M. The Physics of Radiation Therapy, 3rd edition, Williams and Wilkins, 2003.

Supplementary References

  • AAPM Report No 46: Comprehensive QA for Radiation Oncology, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, 1994.
  • AAPM Report No. 55: Radiation Treatment Planning Dosimetry Verification, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, 1995.
  • AAPM Report No. 62, Quality Assurance for Clinical Radiotherapy Treatment Planning, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, 1998.
  • Bentel G C, Nelson C E and Noell K T. Treatment Planning and Dose Calculations in Radiation Oncology, 4th edition. Pergamon, 1989
  • Bentel G C. Radiation Therapy Planning, 2nd edition. McGraw-Hill, 1996.
  • Br J Rad, Supplement 25, Central Axis Depth Dose Data for Use in Radiotherapy. 1996.
  • Dobbs J, Barrett A and Ash D. Practical Radiotherapy Planning- Royal Marsden Hospital Practice, 2nd edition. Arnold, 1992.
  • Gibbon J P. (Ed), Monitor Unit Calculations for External Photon & Electron Beams, Advanced Medical Publishing, 2000.
  • ICRU Report No. 42, Use of Computers in External Beam Radiotherapy Procedures with High-Energy Photons and Electrons, International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, 1988.
  • ICRU Report No. 62, Prescribing, Recording and Reporting Photon Beam Therapy (Supplement to ICRU Report 50). International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, 1999.
  • Klevenhagen S C. Physics of Electron Beam Therapy. Adam Hilger, 1985.
  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, A Practical Guide to Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy. Medical Physics Publishing, 2003
  • Metcalfe P, Kron T and Hoban P. The Physics of Radiotherapy X-rays and Electrons. Medical Physics Publishing, Madison, Wisconsin. 2007
  • Purdy J A and Stackschall G. (Eds). A Practical Guide to 3-D Planning and Conformal Radiation Therapy. Advanced Medical Publishing, 1999.
  • Smith A R and Purdy J A. (Eds), Three-Dimensional Photon Treatment Planning. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 21 (1), 1–265. 1991.
  • Van Dyk J, Modern Technology of Radiation Oncology, Volume 1. Medical Physics Publishing, 1999.
  • Van Dyk J, Modern Technology of Radiation Oncology, Volume 2. Medical Physics Publishing, 2005
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